@KurtGodel7 said:
In New World Order, Italy is a very important Axis power. The same is not true in Flames and Steel. In Flames and Steel, Italy will pick a local project, such as defending Gibraltar, or pushing east against the British in North Africa. The value of the area near Cairo is modest, so Italian success in Northeast Africa does not create a seismic shift in favor of the Axis. It's a few extra PUs.
Italy has 6 MPs, and those allow it to punch a little above its weight. Research isn't very exciting for Italy. It wants the income-increasing techs, of course, but there's little else in its tech tree that it feels truly excited about.
The City of Reno, NV, describes itself as "the biggest little city in the world." My description of Italy would be similar: "the biggest minor power in the world." In my test games, Italy's local projects had gone well, at least for the early game. That made me feel as though Italy was pulling its weight. Italy's life would become harder once America Atlantic has fully mobilized (on round 10).
I don't think you want any of the playable powers in the game to feel boring in terms in terms of research. Italy should not be on par with the major powers, but it shouldn't feel like it's totally barren when you're playing with them.
When I was designing unique Italian techs for TRO, the themes most of theirs fell under were either getting the most out of cheap units, or special operations stuff that's flashy and exciting but not really as practical or versatile as the capabilities that the big powers got.
Here were some of the ideas that either made it into the mod or were left on the drawing board that might be adaptable if you want any of them. I've changed some of the unit names around to match yours where appropriate.
Camicie Nere (Blackshirts) - Militia get +1 attack when supported by a regular Infantry [represents the M battalions]
Autocanoni - Italian Field Guns get +1 move when paired with a Mobile Infantry [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/category/ww2-italian-autocannoni/]
Bersaglieri - Italian Mobile Infantry get to blitz when paired with a Light Tank or Medium Tank
Carri Veloci - Once per turn, Italy can purchase a pair of Light Tanks as a package for a 2 PU discount [I did a lot of these discount packages for different countries where you get 1-2 PU off per unit but have to buy them as a set]
Maiali - Italian Submarines roll two dice during the first turn of an attack on a sea zone adjacent to an enemy naval base [could simplify to some other attack bonus]
Mare Nostrum - Italian Destroyers defend at +1 when accompanying a Transport in a Mediterranean sea zone. One Transport supports up to two destroyers.
Motobomba - Italian Strategic Bombers get a powerful first round torpedo attack against enemy ships [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motobomba]
Picchiatelli - In mine, it let Germany buy a discounted Tactical Bomber for Italy if Italy doesn't have any in play; in yours it could just be Italy gets a slight discount on the Dive Bomber [The Italian name for their imported Stukas]
Sparviero - Italian Medium Bombers get an attack bonus when attacking naval units
